# Ferdinand Freudenstein > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ferdinand_Freudenstein > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ferdinand_Freudenstein.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Freudenstein > Source revision: 1341500438 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American physicist and engineer (1926–2006)}} {{Infobox scientist |name = Ferdinand Freudenstein |image = Ferdinand Freudenstein.jpeg |caption = Ferdinand Freudenstein |birth_date = {{birth date|1926|5|12}} |birth_place = [Frankfurt](/source/Frankfurt), [Germany](/source/Germany) |death_date = {{death date and age|2006|3|30|1926|5|12}} |death_place = |residence = |citizenship = |ethnicity = |fields = [Physics](/source/Physics), [mechanical engineering](/source/mechanical_engineering) |known_for= works in programming computation and kinematics |workplaces = |alma_mater =[New York University](/source/New_York_University)
[Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University)
[Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) |doctoral_advisor = |academic_advisors = |awards = [National Academy of Engineering](/source/National_Academy_of_Engineering), [National Academy of Sciences](/source/National_Academy_of_Sciences) |religion = |signature = |footnotes = }} '''Ferdinand Freudenstein''' (12 May 1926 – 30 March 2006) was an American [physicist](/source/physicist) and [engineer](/source/engineer) known as the "Father of Modern [Kinematics](/source/Kinematics)." Freudenstein applied digital computation to the [kinematic synthesis](/source/kinematic_synthesis) of [mechanism](/source/Mechanism_(engineering))s.M. Checcarelli (Editor), 2007, ''Distinguished Figures in Mechanism and Machine Science,'' Springer. [http://www.springerlink.com/content/p68g683357756307/fulltext.pdf?page=1]{{dead link|date=February 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Life and career of Ferdinand Freudenstein In his Ph.D. dissertation, he developed what became known as the Freudenstein equation, which uses a simple algebraic method to synthesize planar [four-bar function generators](/source/Function_generator).{{Cite web |url=http://columbiauniversity.org/cu/mechanical/announcements/033006Freudenstein/index.html |title=Passing of Dr. Freudenstein |access-date=2010-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719124639/http://columbiauniversity.org/cu/mechanical/announcements/033006Freudenstein/index.html |archive-date=2011-07-19 |url-status=dead }} ==Early life== Ferdinand Freudenstein was born into a Jewish family, on May 12, 1926, in [Frankfurt](/source/Frankfurt), [Germany](/source/Germany). He was the son of a successful merchant George Freudenstein and Charlotte Rosenberg. At the age of ten, Freudenstein — along with his parents and two sisters — fled [Nazi Germany](/source/Nazi_Germany) for refuge in the [Netherlands](/source/Netherlands). In the spring of 1937, Freudenstein moved to [England](/source/England) after having spent six months in the city of [Amsterdam](/source/Amsterdam). In England, he joined his brother and studied in [London](/source/London). During Hitler's [blitzkrieg](/source/blitzkrieg), Freudenstein temporarily moved to [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge), England, for safety, and then spent several years in [Llandudno](/source/Llandudno), [North Wales](/source/North_Wales). Meanwhile, his father and brother were sent to exile in [Australia](/source/Australia) by the British government which regarded all adult male German citizens as enemy of the state. In 1942, when he was 16 years old, Ferdinand with his mother and two sisters sailed from England to [Trinidad](/source/Trinidad) where they remained for six weeks before moving permanently to the [United States](/source/United_States). ==Education== Arriving in [New York City](/source/New_York_City) in 1942, Freudenstein enrolled in [New York University](/source/New_York_University), studying two years before joining the US Army. After the army, he used the financial assistance granted by the [GI Bill](/source/GI_Bill) to study at [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University), where he earned his M.S. in mechanical engineering in 1948. After receiving his M.S., Freudenstein worked as a development engineer for the American Optical Company in [Buffalo, New York](/source/Buffalo%2C_New_York). After two years, Freudenstein decided to pursue a Ph.D. degree in [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) under the supervision of H. Dean Baker. ==Career== In 1954, Freudenstein was appointed as the associate professor of mechanical engineering in Columbia. Then in 1958, he was promoted to the chair of the university's Department of Mechanical Engineering and then full-ranking professor in 1959. Under his leadership, Columbia attracted numerous academics including mathematician Oenne Bottema and British mathematician Eric Primrose. In 1985, Freudenstein became Columbia's Higgins Professor of Mechanical Engineering, a position which he held until his retirement. While working as a faculty at Columbia, Freudenstein also consulted for [Bell Telephone Laboratories](/source/Bell_Telephone_Laboratories), [IBM](/source/IBM), and [General Motors](/source/General_Motors). His many consultations were later made into open publications. As a professor, Freudenstein mentored many Ph.D. students, including current [Stanford](/source/Stanford) professor of mechanical engineering Bernard Roth, engineer George Sandor, and Texas A&M professor [Norris Stubbs](/source/Norris_Stubbs), a former Olympic sprinter. Freudenstein’s teaching became so influential across the world that a Freudenstein Academic Tree{{Cite web |title=Prof. Ferdinand Freudenstein's Academic Tree |url=http://my.fit.edu/~pierrel/ff.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100709102101/http://my.fit.edu/~pierrel/ff.html |archive-date=2010-07-09 |access-date=2010-03-26}} was created in his honor: His Ph.D. students, in turn, mentored younger students, so that — at the time of Freudenstein’s death — over 500 academics could claim membership in the Freudenstein "family tree."Bernard Roth, [https://www.nae.edu/19579/19581/51314/52598/189577/FERDINAND-FREUDENSTEIN-19262006"Ferdinand Freudenstein 1926-2006”], National Academy of Engineering Freudenstein's prominence in the field of kinematics of mechanisms inspired the publication of ''Modern Kinematics: Developments in the Last Forty Years'', written during the celebration of his 65th birthday.A. G. Erdman (Editor), 1993, ''Modern Kinematics: Developments in the last 40 years,'' Wiley-Interscience. ==Awards and recognition== Freudenstein was elected member of the [National Academy of Engineering](/source/National_Academy_of_Engineering) in 1979.http://www.nae.edu/nae/naepub.nsf/Members+By+UNID/2C9AE917A8B0173B86257552006B31E1?opendocument{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} National Academy of Engineering Archive He is an honorary fellow of the [American Society of Mechanical Engineers](/source/American_Society_of_Mechanical_Engineers), a [Guggenheim Fellow](/source/Guggenheim_Fellow) and a recipient of the Egleston Medal conferred by Columbia University. Freudenstein had served on the advisor panels of the [National Science Foundation](/source/National_Science_Foundation) and the [United States Army Research Laboratory](/source/United_States_Army_Research_Laboratory). ==See also== *[Mechanical engineering](/source/Mechanical_engineering) *[Ivy League](/source/Ivy_League) *[National Academy of Engineering](/source/National_Academy_of_Engineering) *[Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * [https://archive.org/search.php?query=Ferdinand+Freudenstein Research papers by Ferdinand Freudenstein], archived by the National Academy of Engineering * [https://www.nae.edu/19579/19581/51314/52598/189577/FERDINAND-FREUDENSTEIN-19262006 "Ferdinand Freudenstein 1926-2006"] by Bernard Roth, National Academy of Engineering * [https://seas150.columbia.edu/history/view/father-of-modern-kinematics "Father of Modern Kinematics"], Columbia University official website * [https://sites.google.com/view/freudensteintree/home Dr. Freudenstein's Doctoral Descendant Tree] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20190321233722/http://www.roymech.co.uk/ RoyMech] * [https://www.amazon.com/Distinguished-Figures-Mechanism-Machine-Science/dp/1402063652 Distinguished Figures in Mechanism and Machine Science: Their Contributions and Legacies (History of Mechanism and Machine Science)] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Freudenstein, Ferdinand}} Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Category:1926 births Category:2006 deaths Category:New York University alumni Category:Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences alumni Category:Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Category:Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science faculty Category:Jewish American physicists Category:American mechanical engineers Category:20th-century American engineers Category:American engineering writers Category:20th-century American Jews Category:21st-century American Jews Category:Scientists from Frankfurt --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ferdinand Freudenstein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Freudenstein) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Freudenstein?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.